Raducanu retires with dizziness as Osaka, Kenin and Sramkova shine in Wuhan
Wuhan
British number one Emma Raducanu retired midway through her first-round match against American Ann Li at the Wuhan Open on Tuesday after suffering dizziness. The 2021 US Open champion had her blood pressure and temperature checked on court before deciding to call it quits while trailing in the second set.
Making her tournament debut, Raducanu broke Li in the opening game with a crisp volley, but the American quickly seized control. Using a string of forehand winners and four aces, Li rattled off six straight games to take the first set 6-1. Raducanu’s errors mounted on her forehand side, and after a double fault left her down a double break in the second, she consulted the doctor before retiring.
The retirement came amid testing conditions in China, where outdoor play was earlier suspended as temperatures touched 34°C. The heat has also impacted other tournaments — with Jannik Sinner retiring due to cramp in Shanghai, while Novak Djokovic vomited during his win over Yannick Hanfmann.
World No. 46 Li now moves on to face Russian ninth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who defeated Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko 6-3, 6-2 in the second round.
Elsewhere, Naomi Osaka made a strong return to Wuhan after eight years, battling past Leylah Fernandez 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two and a half hours. It was her first career victory at the event and her fourth opening-match win in a WTA 1000 this season. Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin staged a gritty comeback, saving two match points before edging Anastasia Zakharova 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3.
In another upset, debutant Rebecca Sramkova rallied from a break down in the final set to overcome Anna Kalinskaya. The victory marked her fifth Top 30 win of 2025 and her first since June.
